“Won/Lost”

a combination of statements, ideas, or features which are opposed to one another.

“the proposed new system suffers from a set of internal contradictions”

a situation in which inconsistent elements are present.

“the paradox of using force to overcome force is a real contradiction”

the statement of a position opposite to one already made.

“the second sentence appears to be in flat contradiction of the first”

I saw something on the news yesterday, here in Scotland, that brought me back to circumstances existing in the U.S. There was a “Black Lives Matter” protest, in which the occurrence of police shootings of black perpetrators was being identified. The story referenced an incident, where an 18 year old black male was pursued on foot from a chase, where he was fleeing from a stolen car. Officers climbed a fence and shot this man multiple times in the back, killing him.

Hearing just what I’ve described, one could take a side based upon your embedded perspective you carry around, rooted in your personal circumstances. The alternative is to step back from this incident, and gain an objective view based upon a more comprehensive construction of a broadly detailed understanding. Let’s break this story, and those occurring in the U.S. allowing for more than just a single event.

“Black Lives Matter…”

Well, of course they do! Regardless of any interpretation by the public, the media, or law enforcement. The suggestion of being placed under a sterotypical magnifying glass, when it comes to law enforcement is very much a real phenomenon. “Profiling” is indeed a practice of law enforcement around the U.S. as far as I can tell. In my community, if any Hispanics are pulled over by the police, at the very least two squad cars are involved, and seeing as many as four is not out of the ordinary. Having grown up in areas with large black populations, I saw the same tactics used there as well. I never experienced such tactics myself, being white and all, but I know it is a factor.
Now let’s turn our focus to the supporting causes law enforcement uses to justify these measures. Black males make up between 5% – 6% of the total population of the U.S. and commit over 50% of the homicides. Statistically Speaking, if you identified that type of concentration of occurrence among such a small sampling of anything, one would recognize this as something of an anomaly. There is something within that sampling contributing to its high ratio of occurrence. Blacks killing Blacks does not support the idea of “Black Lives Matter” to the black community. Now if you’re going to suggest they have the right to support a double standard, then how can anyone possibly offer a solution to this dilemma?

“Law Enforcement on Edge…”

Having spoken with several former law enforcement officers (uniform patrol officers) about the current circumstances, they have all resoundingly suggested the problem is not one sided. One even suggested the advent of the Taser as a contributing factor. He said: “Anyone can be a cop today, there’s no need to represent an imposing physical presence anymore. All you have to do is Taser them to the ground, whenever a suspect becomes unruly”! Now replace the Taser with a Glock 40, and add the threat of putting your life at risk. NONE of these officers are trained for a combat situation, yet they find themselves mentally anticipating such every time there’s a Black or Hispanic male perpetrator involved.

“Summary…”

Propensity to violent crime above anything considered as an average rate exists within the black community. This excludes acts of violence against other races. This behavior has no correlation to racism by other races toward blacks. It’s simply inner racial violence, pure and simple.
Law enforcement uses this fact as a support mechanism to profile the black population in enforcement of the law, pure and simple. This profiling creates excess situations, where blacks are considered dangerous, and the result is an imbalance of incidents where law enforcement uses lethal force to deal with suspicion of all crimes by blacks.

“How do we break this cycle…?

Shouldn’t law enforcement training be adjusted to help midigate the occurrence of lethal force? I’m not suggesting we put law enforcement in harms way by taking away the ability to neutralize a lethal threat, but rather reduce and potentially eliminate the occurrence of such force, where no lethal threat is present.
Black community, if you continue to refuse to recognize the role this violent culture plays in this process, you will never see a better day! This is a cultural dilemma absent of race or skin color. Acceptance of responsibility is equal on both sides of the problem. Prove black lives matter to you, by reducing the violence within your own culture, as well as bringing change to how law enforcement addresses this problem.
This is not a zero sum deal! Both sides have to accept their responsibility, or nothing changes. The laws do not identify crimes by skin color, and any suggested of racial bias is absurd. Conformity to the law is an American representation. That being said, enforcement of these laws must not be skewed by racial perception, and without excessive use of lethal force. Yet, we know the dangers involved with their enforcement, and proper training for the officers on these battle lines must be the precise conditioning for what will be experienced across this nation.

All I know is without the appropriate dialog…nothing will change, and more humans will die from unnecessary violence…both illegal, and in the name of law and order.

A balanced commentary on the situation from a peaceful agitation/activism perspective. Many of your points are reiterated in the beginning of the broadcast. Dr Johnson does say that it is necessary to understand the root of the problem before offering solutions. I hope you’ll find this presentation informative.

I’ve seen racism, and excessive force in law enforcement first hand. My context of the use of all lives matter is in regards to the reality that they actually do. There is no single cause or solution to this dilemma existing not only today, but for my entire life. It’s not race, but cultural acceptance by everyone involved.